The price of gas may be skyrocketing but as web workers, we can’t avoid but to bring the car at times to attend meetings. More than the price of gas, however, it is more stressful to look for a place to park.
Enter GottaPark, a website launching today where people with unused parking places meet up with those that are in need of a space to park.
Anyone can register their parking spaces, rates and hours of availability. Those who are looking for a space can set up an account and book parking online. The renter will be charged with the rate determined by the provider plus additional fee of $0.60 if the parking spot costs $5 or less. If the parking costs more than $5, the fee is an additional 15%.
GottaPark’s service is currently available in San Francisco.
TokBox, a free service that allows you to talk simply with your friends and co-workers over live video, has released a new downloadable application built using Adobe Air.
With the new application, you do not have to be on TokBox’s website to accept or make video calls. Installing is a breeze (something that is common to applications built using Adobe AIR). When installed, it acts like your usual instant messaging application. Just click on a friend or colleague will enable you to do video calling and get immediate notification when someone is calling.
Smart To-Do List by Scott Karstetter is a new to-do list manager with a simple interface. It allows tagging, prioritizing, and filtering to ensure that you do not miss anything. It employs keyboard shortcuts, like ‘h’ for viewing high priority items.
Smart To-Do List is Windows-based and there is no plan yet for a Mac version. Karstetter said that it was developed using Microsoft tools and a Mac version would be difficult.
The application is small enough that it can be installed on to a USB drive for portability. Karstetter is also looking at interfacing with other web-applications to compensate for the absence of a web interface.
Smart To-Do List costs $14.95 but it’s cheaper than similar applications Tudumo ($29.95) and TodoPaper ($29.99). There is a free trial version.
Gone are the days when the cell phone is simply for talking.
In a survey commissioned by Access Systems Americas and conducted by Amplitude Research, buyers of new cell phones look at video capability (33%), music (34%), accessing the Internet (61%), email capabilities (63%), camera (67%), and text messaging (73%) as the most important features that they look for.
Other notable findings of the survey are:
- 62 percent said they would use Bluetooth while 51 percent will use the hands-free microphone to comply with restrictions when driving
- 39 percent said they have added new applications to their cell phones.
- 41 percent said they send or check emails one to five times a day while 28 percent said they do not use their cell phones for email
- 40 percent said they use their cell phones for traffic, weather, and stock market alerts
- 30 percent said they use their cell phones for banking transactions
What is important though is that 88 percent said that it is very important to have a cell phone to use in case of emergency.
I have to admit that I am not too familiar with my cell phone’s functions. I use it simply to call and send text messages. Of course, this was until yesterday when I received a note from T-Mobile informing me that text messaging rate will increase from $0.15 cents to $0.20 cents effective August 29, 2008.
What features of your cell phone are most important for you?
Web workers save on the daily commute especially now with the high fuel cost. But there are times when we need to go out for meetings. I chanced upon RideSearch.com, a free nationwide carpool matching website, that helps carpoolers save money on gasoline and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the daily commute.
I signed up with the free service, hoping to score a cheaper ride when I need to go out. The service is still new so there isn’t that much members yet offering carpool services, especially in my area. I’ll be keeping an eye though.
Meanwhile, here is their Gas Calculator for you to gauge if it’s time to carpool.
TripSay, a Finland-based social network that boasts of offering travelers more value and activity-specific information than other travel communities, is expanding its private beta with a series of new features and invitation to WWD readers.
Here’s a rundown of the new features:
• Groups for sharing trip plans and destinations
• Activity Hub to show recent activities
• Recommendations for travel tips
• Leaderboard for content contributors and earned points
• Sharing favorite and dream destinations
TripSay, however, is not about getting the best price for your vacation but a community to get recommendations, reviews, budget estimates, and document your travel discoveries.
Because web workers need to travel and take a break also, TripSay is providing WWD with 500 invitations. Just send an email to info@tripsay.com with the subject GigaOM.
Yahoo Small Business is raising its domain renewal price from $12.95 per year to $34.95 per year effective July 1, 2008. The announcement was made through emails sent to account holders with domains set for renewal before the effective date.
This is Yahoo’s second price increase in under a year.
The $22.00 increase is a hard pill to swallow for web workers who have used Yahoo to register domain names for their web projects. Competing registrars are reacting. GoDaddy, for example, is offering a 30% discount on domain registration this week.
Portability is important to web workers. When I work outside, I bring with me my laptop and mobile phone. How I wish I can bring my printer with me. There are times when I would rush to a meeting, thinking that I’m fully prepared, only to find out that I have to pass by Kinkos for some last minute printing.
So, I welcome this news that PlanOn is now shipping Printstik, its mobile printer which can print from Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Its list of features are:
• No smudging and no leaking of ink
• Prints up to three pages per minute
• Pocket size, including a cartridge roll of 20 pages and battery
With printers, it is the cost of consumables that turns me off. PrintStik, however, uses thermal paper which you purchase in packs of 3, or equivalent to 60 pages, for $24.99 or 41 cents each. That’s the cost already of color printing at Staples.
Price is on the high-end though starting at $299.99 but I guess that’s what we pay for portability.
